The present invention relates generally to stands of the type for supporting objects at a raised level, and is particularly concerned with a hopper stand for supporting a hopper of the type used to coat drywall corner bead with drywall mud or joint compound, as well as a combined hopper and stand assembly.
It is known to use a hopper filled with joint compound having a feeder in its base to apply joint compound to corner bead. Typically, the hopper is placed directly on top of a bucket standing on the ground, so that excess drywall mud will drip from the feeder into the bucket as the corner bead is pulled out of the feeder. This arrangement has some disadvantages. Firstly, the hopper will not be very stable and will tend to wobble as the corner bead or drywall tape is pulled through the feeder. Secondly, the operator must bend or crouch down in order to feed the tape into one end of the feeder and pull it out at the other end, which is awkward and uncomfortable.
A stand has been used in the past to support the hopper at a raised height such that the operator does not have to bend over in order to coat the corner bead. The prior stand has two pairs of crossed legs which are pivoted together and each joined by a cross bar at their upper ends, and the hopper is simply placed freely on top of the cross bars. Chains are used to secure the legs together below the pivot in order to lock the legs in an open or deployed position of the stand. This arrangement places the hopper at a more convenient height for use, but does not solve the problem of instability or wobbling of the hopper.